The Long Slow Burn
by KatasaurusRex
Summary: ALL HUMAN - He washed out of his training so what was the next best thing to do with his rockin' body? STRIP! But when new-to-town Bella Swan mistakes him for a real firefighter, what's a guy to do? Pre-reader: LadyKat aka LadyKathryne
1. Chapter 1

I've got an army in my head  
My bullet brains and I'm better off dead  
I've got a cyclone in my soul  
My hearts bleeding into a big, black hole  
 _ **"Bang Bang Boom" - The Unknown**_

 _ **Magic Mike Soundtrack**_

Brooklyn, New York

"GOOOOOOD MORNING, BROOKLYN! This is your eye in the sky Dean Wiggins. Traffic is at a stand still on the 278 because of an overturned freight truck. Anyone needing to get into the central city is going to be LATE, LATE, LATE!" The radio announced from the speakers of a beautiful, cherry red Camero that was currently stuck in said traffic jam. The driver growled and jammed his finger at one of the buttons, halting the announcements of the AM Radio DJ in favor of a beautiful guitar solo in progress.

"Nah shit we're gonna be late. I'm supposed to be in there!"

Paul Lahote was not a patient man.. This was proven by the fact that he began to honk his horn, even knowing the other cars were going nowhere. At an early age, Paul had been accepted to train to work for the Brooklyn fire department.. NYFD! He had busted his ass on the tests, the training and the physicals. He was in the best shape of his life and could only go up from there.

But then his mother had gotten sick.. His father had walked out on them before he was even taking a bottle, so it was just him and his ma.. Suddenly, he was juggling his work, her meds, her doctors appointments and all the household bills. He knew he was screwing up, but he couldn't let his ma down..

He spared a glance at the clock. 9:15.. He was already fifteen minutes late!? He glared through his aviator sunglasses at the traffic infront of him. It wouldn't be clear soon, he knew that much. Glancing out his window at the grassy shoulder beside him, he sighed.

"Sorry Cherry. I'm gonna owe you a wash and wax.."

With a huff, he pulled onto the grassy shoulder and sped through the mud and debris up to the accident. Parking his car, he threw himself out of the car and met up with his partner Benny.  
Benjamin "Benny" Mendez had been part of the Brooklyn NYFD for "too many years" and had seen "a'lotta fucked up shit, Pauly"- And he was the father that Paul had never had.. Okay, maybe an uncle. Dad's have a tendency to not pan out right. He was in his early 50's with dark hair that seemed to be peppered with gray. Benny had never been married and never had kids of his own, so he'd volunteered to train "the young buck" and they'd never looked back..

"Yo! Benny!"

The older man turned and rolled his eyes, "Pauly! Where the hell have you been?!"

"Stuck in this shit mess. I called the station. What's the deal?"

He lost himself in his work as Benny explained the problems and how they needed to clean it up. They were trying to get everyone to safety while making sure the truck wasn't going to catch fire and explode.

"We don't know if it's on fire or not?" Paul gaped.

"Well sorry there, Mista Muscles, but not all of us can monkey-climb ourselves up there to see through the tear in the hood. And you know we ain't getting a truck through all'a this!"

At the look on Paul's face, Benny growled and grabbed Paul by one of his suspender straps, "You listen ta me, kid. Don't you go takin' no risks. Your ass is already gonna get chewed 'cause you was late. You think the Chief'll not go all rabid on ya for goin' outside your paygrade?"

Paul raised an eyebrow and removed Benny's hand in an overly calm way from his person... Before running off and vaulting up the side of the overturned truck. He grabbed the wheel and swung his body, causing the huge rubber item to rotate enough for him to reach the foothold with this knee. He hefted his body up and walked gingerly along the door to the edge of the window before crouching to peer down into the hood. A giant gash had been ripped through the hood somehow, giving him a beneficial view into the engine. He pulled his mini-Maglite from his pocket and looked inside the cavern. With a huff, he stretched his body out and held himself up in push-up position one handed to get a closer look.

Five minutes later, he was back on the ground brushing his hands off. "No leak. No fire. We can get this hunk'a tin outta here. I'm gonna head on to the station, yeah?"

Benny waved him off, not making eye contact. Paul brushed it off as him being butthurt about his "risk" and they'd work it out later.

"LAHOTE! Get ya ass in here!"

He groaned and turned towards the Chief's door, "Can I get a cup'a coffee first?"

Never a man to deny another coffee, Chief Derrick Kenworth waved his hand at the pot while glaring at the young buck in his firehouse. He'd taken a risk on Lahote and for the most part, he thought it had paid off. He knew about the boy'd problems with his mom and he'd tried to help him out. However, there are just some things you can't save people from...

He sighed as Paul entered, "Close the door, Kid."

Paul paused, an icy hand of nervousness raking through his body and settling to grip his stomach, "Yes, sir."

He sat down and took a sip of his coffee, looking at his Chief, "Sir?"

He watched the older, very gray man run a hand through his thinning hair before flopping into his chair, "What were you thinkin' out there?"

"Well sir, I was thinking there was a job that needed to be done and I was able to do it."

"You could have been hurt."

"But I wasn't."

"You were told, by a senior member and your own partner, to not act how you did.. The Head Marshall was on scene. He called me and told me to send your file to him. He wants you outta the firehouse.."

"What? Why?!"

Kenworth laid Paul's file out on the desk, "He thinks that you're getting worse. I tried to tell him you're a helluva fireman, kid.. But you know your practical marks are falling steadily..."

"Chief! Please! You know what's been going on! You know-"

"-Yeah.. I know.. The decision isn't mine."

Paul nodded and forced the emotion from his face, holding his hand out to Kenworth to shake while refusing to meet the other man's eyes, "Thanks for everything, Sir..."

"Lahote, I-"

"I get it. Okay? I get it."

He burst out of the office and punched a wall before heading to his locker and starting to clear out his own personal items.

"Pauly.."

He turned and glared at his partner, betrayal written all over his face, "Benny! SAVE IT!"

"I tried, Pauly. It wasn't any of our calls!"

"You knew it had to be done!"

Benny simply sighed, "Call me later, kid. Take care of yourself."

Paul tossed his badge at Benny's feet and walked out...

Later, sitting in his car outside his home, he let his tears fall. What would he do now? He had to take care of his ma. All the bills were caught up for now, but new ones would come in the mail tomorrow. A never ending cycle. A flyer taped to the lightpole caught his eye..

THE SLIPPER ROOM – Looking for attractive males ages 21-30 to perform as Exotic Dancers.

He sighed as he stared at the number on the ad. He didn't really have any other options. He washed out as being a fireman.. Who would want a wet-behind the ears young man who had no college degree? He'd been told several times he looked too pretty to be as intelligent as he was... Time to make a stupid life decision...

"Yeah.. Is this the Slipper Room? I'd like to schedule an audition... Paul Lahote... Twenty-Two... Ah, I got got tattoos and abs... Was gonna be a fireman... Yeah. See you tomorrow then."

With a sigh, he got out of Cherry and went inside. He heard the sounds of his mother's soaps playing from the living room as he scooped up the bills in the hallway.

"Ma?"

"Oh! My Pauly! You're home early."

Paul sighed and went to sit infront of his mother. She muted the TV and looked at him with a sigh, "What is it?"

"Ma... I washed out. I'm sorry. I made the Fire Marshall upset today without even knowing until I got back to the firehouse. It's okay though. I get my last check from them tomorrow and I've already got an interview lined up somewhere else."

Sophia Lahote eyed her son as he sat infront of her. He looked so much like a boy, but she knew he'd been forced to become a man when she took ill. "Doing what? You're not going to be doing anything illegal are you?"

He shot up from the table and ran a hand through his hair, "Christ Ma! No! I'm going to be.. Bartending."

Sophia snorted, knowing automatically he was lying but not wanting to tell her exactly, "Oh yeah? You've never mixed a drink in your life. Whatcha gonna do?"

"They're going to train me if I get the job. Don't worry about it.. Okay?"

Feeling weary, Sophia let the matter drop, "Alright. Just don't get into trouble. I need you here."

Paul sat on his knees and took her hand, brushing a kiss overtop of it before looking up at her like a young child, "I need you too, ya know.."

She nodded and ran a hand over his head softly, "I know. I'm still here."

He cleared his throat and stood up, shaking his body as if to shake off the feelings, "Let me make you some lunch, huh? Maybe some pasta?"

Sophia chuckled and waved him off, "Sure. Just let me watch my stories."


	2. Chapter 2

So tell me what your name is  
I don't really care who you came with  
Unless you got a couple friends look like you  
My bad if my ex try to fight you  
Roll up soon as I roll in  
Security better get with the program

"Show Me" by Kid Ink

Six Months Later

Paul stared into the mirror as he stood in the dressing room. If he focused only on himself, it was almost like he never lef the firehouse.. He still had the baggy pants.. The boots.. But then he the thumping music invaded his bubble and he was back in reality.

He was back in The Slipper Room.. His name was not Paul Lahote here, it was Chief Redhot. While he had the same clothing, he would be stepping out of them showing off an oiled chest.. He didn't have any of the patches of his old firehouse.. He was like an orphaned fireman..

He heard the screams of the night's bachelorette party and clenched his fists. Emerald eyes snapped up to the picture he'd taped to the mirror as motivation. "Ma..."

He heard Scott and James, the twin cops who had just exited the stage, come into the room and stood up straight.

"La-Hottie! They're ready for you man." Scott smirked, withdrawing wads of slightly damp bills from the front of his briefs.

"Is that name ever gonna go away?" Paul asked, placing his helmet on his head and shrugging on his jacket.

"Nope." James replied, slipping into his 'floor clothes' before applying a bit more oil to his sculpted chest, "Once Scotty gives you a name, that's it man."

Paul simply flipped them off and walked out to stand on his mark behind the curtain.

It wasn't as if The Slipper Room was some hole-in-the-wall joint. It was actually very classy and upscale.. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as the opening sounds of his soundtrack began. He slipped into a memory of his first time at TSR...

 _He sat in Cherry, staring at the building infront of him. This could not be correct.. No way.. The Slipper Room looked like a little store for chicks to go in and play burlesque for awhile before going back to Stepford lives._

" _Dudes dance here?"_

" _Yeah actually, they do."_

 _He turned swiftly towards the voice and glared, "Who asked you?"_

" _No one. I just couldn't help but overhear you talkin' to yaself. Name's Donnie. I'm a bartender around here. You here for an audition, pretty boy?"_

 _Paul took a deep breath and let it out slowly with a low growl, "My name is Paul. And unfortunately, yes. I am."_

" _Unfortunately?"_

 _Paul sighed, "I've got no choice. I washed out of the firehouse and my ma's sick. I gotta take care'of her. I figure I've got the body to make the cash..."_

 _Donnie looked him up and down, "Yeah.. I'm not gay or nuthin but ah.. Yeah. The hen's'll love ya. Come on in, Pretty Boy. Lemme show ya around. Who are you auditioning for?"_

 _Paul nodded and opened his door, rolling up the window before exiting Cherry. He locked her up and clipped his keys to his belt loop, "Said her name was Candy? Can't tell if that's a stage name or her real name."_

 _Donnie chuckled as they walked inside, "Both. She used to strip and since her parents gave her a name that fit, she kept it. She's still pretty hot too for a-"_

" _For a..?" A female voice sounded from their right. Paul looked over and couldn't help eyeing the woman up and down. She was tall and fit.. Long black hair and a blinding set of.. teeth.._

 _She held her hand out, "You must be Paul. I'm Candy. Donnie givin you a hard time?"_

 _Paul shook her hand skeptically, "Nah. He's been helpful. So what'a'ya want me to do?"_

 _Candy's eyes widened, "A straight shooter. I can't tell if that's good or bad yet. Follow me and we'll talk.. The Slipper Room stage is 15 feet wide by 12 feet deep. The height of the stage to the catwalk is 17 feet. The catwalk has various points of rigging, ideal for silks, trapeze, hammock, rope and chain performance. We host shows as such on occasion.. The room has 4 speakers at the front of the room (2 on each level) and the same at the back. We have 4 wedges for onstage mixes with 2 side fills on stage."_

 _Paul looked around at the room and nodded slowly, "Okay?"_

 _Candy chuckled, "You're nervousness is cute.. We'll have to get rid of that though. Hop up on the stage."_

 _Paul jumped onto the stage, landing in a crouch before straightening and holding his arms out in a Ta-Da fashion. Candy rolled her eyes and picked up a clipboard._

" _Take off your shirt."_

 _The list only grew from there. She had him measured, asked him a slew of questions and then..._

" _Now you gotta dance.." She motioned to someone in a booth and music filled the air. Paul waited for a moment before trying to move to the beat. He had never been a big dancer, but all stripping required was a little wiggling and taking off clothes right? Wrong.._

" _STOP!" she yelled out. The music halted and she sighed, "Mr. Lahote, you are stiff.. You move in a forced manner and honestly I can tell you're uncomfortable. I'm not sure this is right for you.."_

 _Paul sighed and looked at the ground, "Please.. I need this job."_

" _Why? Surely a man like you, young and fit, can easily find another profession."_

" _My ma's sick. I'm the only one she's got and I never went'ta college because we didn't have the money and I couldn't leave her. I got recruited to the firehouse and when I washed out... Please. You can teach me. Train me to do whatever you want. I'll do anything. Please.. Just give me a job."_

 _Candy sighed and motioned, "Donnie!"_

 _As if from magic, the man in question appeared, "Yeah?"_

" _Paul is going to be your new apprentice behind the bar during pink nights. For now, we're going to have him serving on blue nights and for a few hours before and after.. We'll train him to dance."_

 _Paul's head shot up and his eyes met the icy blues of Candy, "You're giving me a-"_

" _-A chance.. Don't waste it."_

 _And like that he was dismissed..._

He worked hard for Candy. And once he got the hang of dancing, they formed a beautiful partnership. He brought in the ladies and the ladies brought in the cash. He had always been very good at reading people and he knew how to make a woman want to take a drink or stuff more bills in his pants. At first, he'd stripped down to boxers. Candy had said most real men wear briefs and expecting them to wear a G-String or a thong was like expecting a woman to shove a cactus under her tits and call it a push-up bra. But more skin meant bigger bills..

"LADIES! Please join me in welcoming to the stage... CHIEF RED HOT!"

The curtain was thrown open and Paul let himself to go the place he went when he danced. He pretended he was alone on a dark stage. He wasn't being paraded around like a piece of meat (although he WAS fucking sexy) and he wasn't working in a place his Ma would be ashamed of.. The hands of the women over him were caresses of wind.. It was just him alone on the lower stage..

In reality..

Paul looked up through his helmet, the light obscuring his vision of the hordes of women crowding the stage. Lil Wayne's 'Fireman' was playing and he was doing general, eye-catching opening moves.. Once he was satisfied with the number of women at the stage, he tossed the helmet off and onto the floor. His green eyes flashed and the women screamed as his hips gyrated and he gave subtle glimpses of his abs.. They went crazy when he fell to his knees, his coat coming off to rest at the crook of his elbows. His abs rippled and flexed as he rolled and thrusted in the air. The lights shone off his oiled chest and he ran his palms slowly down his body, taking his suspenders with them. He moved into a crouch and waved his hands in a "come on" fashion.

Did they want to see more? Did they want more skin? The screams almost drowned out his music entirely. He rolled his hips in a way he'd seen in twerk videos on YouTube (purely research...) and his pants slowly began to fall...

Then he deathdropped back and into a somersault and he was left in his G-String.

Center stage. Muscles straining. Abs glistening.

The money rain began.

He made his rounds, finishing his routine and trying to ignore how the hands of the different women clung to him.

At the end, he smirked and put his helmet on his head before the lights went out and he went back through the curtain with a big wad of cash in his pants.


	3. Chapter 3

Reduce myself, I got the strict restrictions  
Not sexy enough without the regulations  
A melting point countdown the fading features  
Born to blossom and bloom to perish

"Beauty Contest" - No Doubt

Paul sat at the bar with Candy and Donnie, a beer infront of him and a stir stick in his mouth as he counted up his money.

"You'd look better sittin there in a fedora and a cigar." Candy commented, counting out the money that the house made from her seat at the middle of the bar. Donnie chuckled and shook his head while Paul just waved a hand.

"My darling Candy, what good would a cigar do? You don't let anyone smoke in here and my ma would kill me if I came home smelling like that stuff."

Candy sighed wistfully and looked out at nothing like she tended to do from time to time.

"Uh oh, Pretty Boy. She's going back in time again. Quick. Let's take the money and run."

Paul almost fell off his seat laughing as Donnie had to dodge the rubber band shot at his head. It landed beside him and he held up his beer in salute, "Thanks, Doll. I needed a rubber."

Candy rolled her eyes and waved him off with her fingers, "All those fawning fans tonight? I think you'd need more than one."

"Pfft. You kiddin'? The last girl I brought home.. Her name was Sammi.. Ma warned me she was no good but I was young and she had a lovely pair of-" Candy raised an eyebrow and he swallowed, "Eyes.. Beautiful eyes.. Yea.. Anyway.. One of the guys back at the firehouse's wife made brownies for all of us after we stopped her ma's house from being burned down. Sammi went nuts and accused me of sleeping with her! Even went so far as to smell my dick. Nah. I don't do fawning or clingy broads."

Donnie roared out a laugh, "She sniffed your jock? Dude!"

Candy tossed back the last of her drink and stood with the cash box, "It's time for me to head to bed, boys. You're welcome to stay but if you don't lock my fuckin' door-"

"We know!" They chorused. She smiled and nodded, "I know you know. See you tonight. It's a pink night, so you're on bar Paul."

He nodded, stepping behind the bar and picking up a rag to help out Donnie. They worked in silence for awhile before Donnie let out a sigh. Paul rolled his eyes, "You are just like a chick. What's'it, Don?"

"Six months ago, you were sittin' out in that fuckin' car of yours, staring at the door like a lil' bitch. Now look at'cha.. Headlining dancer, hot bartender and makin' enough to take care of your ma. I'm proud'a'ya."

Paul smiled. Donnie reminded Paul of a younger Benny and sometimes it made his heart ache. He'd been ignoring all of the older man's calls. Paul knew it wasn't Benny's fault he got canned, but it wasn't about anger anymore.. It was about shame. He was ashamed at how he'd acted towards the man and wasn't sure how to fix it.. If he could fix it.

He put up his set of glasses and walked back around the bar, grabbing his bag, "I finished before ya, Don. Get on it." He threw the man a wink and held his arm up as he threw his duffel over his shoulder and walked out. He almost felt like he was leaving the firehouse. His bag was over his shoulder, his pants were held up by one suspender and he had his black FDNY shirt stretched tight across his chest. He could almost pretend...

He hit the button to unlock Cherry, flicking his shades down to fight against the sun that was beginning to peek through. He tossed the bag in the back and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. His plan had been to call his ma, see if she wanted some breakfast.. But that plan wouldn't happen.

"Sir? Sir! Can you help me? Please!?" He turned with a smirk on his face, expecting one of the single mothers who tended to hang out after hours hoping to pretend to be a damsel in distress. Wrong.

This broad was no single mother.. She had tattoos all down her arms and he could only wonder if she had anymore hidden under that red tanktop. Her jeans were ripped on purpose and her studded belt drew attention to her figure when it sparkled in the light. She had long, thick hair down to her waist and dark coffee eyes.. He was suddenly thirsty. Her lips were plump and reminded him of ripe strawberries and she looked like she would be MORE than a handful... ATTITUDE WISE.. Yes.. Only the attitude..

Oh fuck it. For once, he was going to admit that a woman had a very impressive rack, even inside his own head. His ma couldn't smack him and call him disrespectful for the thoughts in his head... Could she? Nah..

She was seriously fed up. The sun was barely up and she was already sick of everything. She had barely been in Brooklyn for a month and she was ready to pack it in and go home.

But if she did that, her step-sister Leah would chew her out and her dad would give her those pity looks. No. She was determined. She would make it here. She would land a great job and do it far, FAR away from her smothering family.

One glance at her flat tire made her think she highly over-estimated her luck.. Until she caught sight of a guy across the road in a parking lot standing beside some red car. Upon further inspection, her mood brightened. What amazing luck! A fireman!

"Sir? Sir! Can you help me? Please?!" She called out, hoping he could hear her. She breathed a sigh of relief as he turned towards her.

"Oh dear sweet baby Jesus.." She breathed out. The man was beyond hot. She could clearly count his abs, even though he had a FDNY tee somehow shrink-wrapped to his body. He had almost full sleeves on both arms and she saw the peekings of some on his chest at his neckline. Even in his baggy fireman's pants, she could tell he was fit and muscular and.. "Delicious." She purred out to no one, thankful she was alone. She dropped her large sunglasses down to cover her eyes so she could continue to check him out as he sauntered over.

"You okay, Doll?" He asked her, sending electric tingles down her body to settle in her core. Oh dear..

"Uhm.. My car.. I'm sorry to have to ask but you've got uh.. Muscles.. And I'm trying to change my tire because the bastard went flat but the nuts are stuck."

He raised an eyebrow, "Stuck nuts?"

She bit her lip and nodded, causing him to stifle a groan as he felt an all-too-familiar tightening in his pants. "Yeah sure.. I can fix your nuts."

She blushed and mentally slapped herself, "Er.. Yeah. Thanks. Name's Bella, by the way.. Not Doll."

They started walking towards her car and he laughed, "This is New York. Every dame who doesn't have a name is Doll, Sweetheart or Princess.."

She made a face of disgust and shook her head, "Doll it is."

He squatted down, taking hold of the shaft of the tire-iron, "So, where'ya goin' in such a hurry? It's early as fuck, ya know."

She crossed her arms and stuck out a hip, causing her shirt to ride up a bit and confirm that yes, this female had more hidden ink. "My jackass old mangy furball, Jacob. But he's a problem all together."

He started grunting as he man-handled the stiff rod and Bella constantly had to give herself a mental shake to stop the naughty images from forming.

"Was never a big fan of cats. They use ya." He commented, finally getting one nut to come loose, "When was the last time ya oiled these?"

Her head tilted as she leaned against the gate outside her building, "Oiled?"

He chuckled, "Not a car girl, huh?"

"Not really. My step-sister's husband Sam usually took care of Diablo.. But then I moved here last month.

"Ahh.. Well then, welcome to New York, Doll."

"Bella."

"Right, right. Belladonna." She flipped him off and he barked out a laugh, "Saw that."

"Of course you did."

"So what's with your cat?"

"He's got a vet's appointment. But the jackass is currently in the tree above us and I can't get him down. So he might not be going."

He finished changing her tire and stood to look at her, "You mean to tell me.. That you're one of those girls with the cliché of their cat being in a tree?"

She screamed in mortification inside her head but outwardly shrugged, "Guess so. Thanks for changing my tire..."

"Paul. Paul Lahote. Want me to get your cat too?"

Before she could answer, it seemed like someone had began pouring buckets of water on them as it began to rain. She growled and stomped her heeled foot, "PERFECT! Just perfect. Now Jacob is stuck AND wet."

Paul started laughing and she turned to him with a shocked expression, "WHAT is so funny?"

He caught his breath and took off his sunglasses, placing them in his pocket for safe-keeping, "You have a wet pussy, Bella."

Her eyes widened and locked onto his. Her heart shuddered at the heat in his glittering emerald eyes, "Uh... Uh..."

A mangy rust-colored cat , Jacob he assumed, jumped between them and he realized how he was acting with this girl. She was probably a good girl, like he used to be a good guy. No need to change that.

"Well.. If you ever need my services again.. Or just a friend in New York..." he handed her one of his blank business cards and she looked down at it to hide her disappointed expression.

"Oh. Yeah. Thanks. See ya around."

She scooped up her cat and dashed inside her apartment. He shook his head and made his way back to Cherry, stopping to put a towel over his seats so they didn't get ruined. He sat there for a bit, unwinding. About five minutes later, he watched Bella walk out with a cat carrier and an umbrella. She tossed the carrier gently but frustratedly into the passenger seat and he saw her talking to him with an annoyed expression on her beautiful face.

"See ya around, Belladonna..."

She drove off and he waited a bit before leaving himself. She didn't need to know he'd stuck around...

Little did he know, she was bitching at Jacob about ruining the moment with Paul.


	4. Chapter 4

I can change your life  
Make it so new

Make you never wanna go back to the old you  
Ciroc and lime, give it a lil time  
And she gon' transform like Optimus Prime

" **Transform Ya" - Lil Wayne**

Sophia Lahote's heart was heavy. Each night, her son left to work. While she knew he was not entirely lying, she also did not know the whole truth. Every other night, Paul came home with massive amounts of cash, much more than a normal bartender would bring in with tips.. Even in New York.

When she asked how his night was, every other night the light would leave his eyes and he would answer with a simple "fine." He would take her out for breakfast and help her around the house. He would make sure she was settled with her medications and lunch before heading off to bed. He would only sleep a few hours before getting up to make sure she had dinner and spend a bit more time with her before leaving for work.

There was one morning when he came home and he seemed lost in thoughts. There was a look on his face she hadn't seen since his first school crush. She knew, however, not to push the issues. Paul would come to her when he was ready.

It seemed that the Lord was ready, even if Paul wasn't.

It was a Friday afternoon and she had an appointment at a new doctor's office. Perhaps they knew a method to help her that her other doctor did not, the man was a specialist after all. They ran a few tests and to cheer her up, Paul was taking her to her favorite restaurant for lunch.

Paul stiffened as soon as he walked in the establishment when the hostess' eyes lit up. She obviously knew who he was. He gave a quick head shake and a glance at his mother and she nodded understandingly. She politely led them to their table in a secluded back section and Paul let out a sigh of relief. He responded as his mother made small talk and he looked over the menu even though he knew he was going to have a meatball sub and a side salad.

"Good afternoon. My name is-"

He slapped his menu down, "Belladonna!"

Sophia raised an eyebrow at her son. He seemed to perk up upon seeing the beautiful waitress. "You know this girl, Pauly?"

She young woman blushed, "My name is Bella.. Paul helped me fix a flat a few days ago."

"Is that so? Pauly, you didn't tell me you met a new girl."

Paul smirked at Bella in a challenging way, settling back in the booth with his arms crossed, "Well Ma, that's because Belladonna didn't call me or make any indication she wanted to form a friendship."

Bella's eyes widened, "I uhm.. Jacob kinda ate your card.. I checked to see if you were in the parking lot again but I've not seen you.. I uh.. Yeah. I'm not trying to be rude but the manager really has it out for me so I've gotta take your order or I'm going to get in trouble."

Sophia watched a shadow pass through her son's eyes before determination sparkled in them, "Is that so?"

Before Bella could answer, a squat man with thinning hair marched up to Bella's side, "Miss Swan, you are being paid to be a waitress, not to gossip. Miss Jennings wanted me to come-"

"Excuse me. Could you tell Miss Jennings that I'd like to speak to her?"

The man's eyebrows raised but he nodded before scurrying away. Shortly after, he returned with a bottle blonde who was trying to hard to not look the thirty that she probably was. Paul hated women like that. As if there was anything wrong with thirty. His ma was in her fifties and she was beautiful.

Her eyes lit up upon seeing Paul and he knew this would be a cake-walk. "My name is Kayla Jennings. I was told you wanted to speak to me?"

Paul smirked and Sophia almost laughed at the glee in his eyes, "Yes. Bella is a close friend of ours and my mother here just had a doctor's appointment this morning. She hadn't gotten to see Bella in awhile so while she was taking our order- meatball sub – side salad – coke, my mother and I were informin' her about current events and the diet – turkey pot pie – mixed veggies – lemon water, that the doctor placed her on."

Bella had covertly been writing down their order and her eyes sparkled as she winked over her pad at Paul. Miss Jennings was gaping like a fish before she snapped herself out of it, "Oh. Well. Yes. I'm sorry, I seemed to be misinformed on her activites. I'm sorry, Bella. Carry on."

They watched Miss Jennings and her toad scurry away before they started laughing. Bella smiled, "Thanks Paul. I'll have this right out for you."

Sophia watched her son as he watched the beautiful brunette walk away and smirked, "She was a lovely young lady."

"Yeah, isn't she beautiful?- I mean! Shit."

"Language, Pauly. Just because I'm sick doesn't mean I can't still swat your behind."

Paul laughed and thought about how many women in the world would pay to be able to swat his behind.. In fact, some did. "Yes Ma. Sorry Ma."

Bella breezed by, sliding their drinks fluidly onto the table before seeming to flow over to another table and deliver their food. Paul had to wonder what a girl like that was doing.. She'd just moved to New York. Surely it wasn't to waitress.

She delivered their meal in much the same fashion and Paul winked at his mother as he slid his tip under the salt shaker before escorting his mother to the front. He paid the bill and noticed Bella clearing their table. Her speed was impressive, but his had to be better..

He had just gotten his ma in the car when he heard her.

"PAUL! HEY! PAUL!"

He turned casually and leaned against his hood, "Yeah?"

"I think you made a mistake. You gave me one hundred dollars instead of ten?"

He shook his head, lowering his sunglasses onto his face and casually opening the door, "It's no mistake, Belladonna. Check the note. See ya around."

He slid in his car and watched as Bella looked at the bill and back to him as he backed away.

Bella looked back down at the one hundred dollar bill he'd left her as a tip.. With his number written on it in bright blue ink.

She whipped out her cellphone and keyed his number in, wondering if she would have the guts to call it..

Paul vaulted over the bar and rubbed his hands together, "Pink night!"

Donnie laughed, "You've seen all the broads we got on stage. Why are you so happy?"

"Because after the day I've had, shakin' my ass for some handsy chicks would not be ideal."

"Oh yeah. How's ma?"

Paul sighed, chucking his shirt off and putting it under the bar, "We won't know for about a week. They did some tests. If they say what the last one said..."

Donnie laid a hand on Paul's shoulder, "It'll all be okay, Pretty Boy. You may get naked here, but we're also family."

Paul raised an eyebrow, "If we're all family, tell Janice to stop grabbin my ass!"

Bella bit her lip as she pressed the call button. The phone rang several times before going to his voicemail. Bella sighed and ended the call before tossing the phone on her bed and absent-mindedly stroking Jacob's fur..

"Maybe I shouldn't get so attached, Jake. I came here to get on Broadway and here I am.. Thirty minutes away and working in a diner."

Jacob let out a yowl and Bella stared out the window as it began to rain.


	5. Chapter 5

Oh baby don't you know I suffer  
Oh baby can't you hear me moan?  
You caught me under false pretenses  
How long before you let me go?  
"Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse

Paul let out a long groan as he stood from the bar. Pink night was over. Paul loved being behind the bar, but some nights felt longer than others. He was constantly asked by the male patrons why the strip club employed male bartenders, if he was fucking any of the dancers, or how to get a hook-up. He was constantly watching for date-rape drugs, hands being where they shouldn't and the over-all demeanor of the patrons. Candy ran a classy club and he wanted to protect her and her girls. He was friends with almost all of the other dancers and had even helped a few perfect the deathdrop move for the faster songs.. He may have even helped a few learn to twerk, not that he would ever admit that.

"I'm outta here!" He yelled out, tossing his jacket over his shoulder and tossing two fingers up at the others. All he wanted was to deposit his tips, grab a nice plate of greasy eggs from the diner where Bella worked (not at all hoping to catch a glimpse of said female) and collapse on the couch with his ma for a few hours before she shooed him to bed. A glance at his phone as he walked out told him it was Sunday morning. There would be no Pink or Blue night tonight, so he had the night off.

"Paul?"

The voice he'd been dying to hear broke him out of his groggy bubble. Unfortunately, he had been on auto-pilot and when he'd snapped his head up, it had broken his concentration. He half tripped and gave a half-glare at her giggle. It only took about a half-second too long for him to register exactly what she was seeing. She thought he was a fireman.. And he was walking out of a known strip club.

"Bella." He cursed at the waver in his voice, as if he were a kid caught sneaking sweets.

She raised an eyebrow, "I would say good morning but I doubt you even went to bed yet."

He flipped his sunglasses down over his eyes, trying to re-gain his composure, "You would be right, but probably not for the reasons you would think. I'm a bartender."

She crossed her arms and stuck out her hip, "I thought you were a fireman."

He gave her a cool half smirk and she almost melted, "I'm a bit of both, sweetheart. Now.. You stalkin' me?"

She let out a half-laugh, "You realize that I don't live that far from here? I went for a morning run."

He took in her attire and she could feel his gaze on her body from behind his dark sunglasses. She knew very few people who could pull off aviator glasses and he could completely! She could feel as his gaze followed the curves of her waist in her yoga pants, back up to her face. "So you did. Well then, how about I treat you to breakfast?"

"No, but thank you. I've already had my morning breakfast shake. I would ask if you'd like to finish my last lap around the block with me, but you don't seem like you're in the appropriate work-out clothes." She gestured to his attire of baggy-sigh dark-wash jeans and a red wife-beater with a black button-up pulled over, hanging freely. He shrugged.

"You'd be right, Belladonna."

She smiled, "Guess I'll see you around then."

Before she could take off, he reached out and took her wrist. Her skin was soft and he could feel her pulse quicken under his fingertips. He was itching to trail those fingertips up her arm and around her shoulders.. Up to tangle in that silky mass of hair she currently had up in a messy bun and crush her body to his while tasting those cherry lips of hers.. But this wasn't the time and he certainly wasn't the right guy for her. He couldn't let her go, though. He was stuck in a Catch 22.

"You never called me. Any reason why?"

He saw a sparkle come to her eyes before she leaned close to him. She almost purred at the all-male scent of him and he had to bite his lip to fight from burying himself in the hollow of her neck and taking her in. "Check your phone there."

Her warm breath across his neck and cheek stunned him and when he was able to recover, she was giggling and far out of his reach. He growled at himself and looked down at his phone again. Sure enough, the missed call indicator was sitting at the top of his screen. "Damn."

He quickly saved the unknown number and finished walking to his car, sitting in the warmth a moment before swiping his fingers across the screen.

Bella sighed in relief as she collapsed on her couch. Jacob stared at her from his new favorite perch atop the side-lights in her living room. She'd tried several times to get him to stay down and even thought of taking her curtains down so he couldn't climb up. In the end, she let them stay and him have what he wanted. She did just have him neutered after all.

"Rrrowlll" Jacob yowled at her with a tilt of his head and a swish of his tail. She glanced into the kitchen at his empty food bowl and then glared at him.

"No. You know the drill. Once in the morning and once at night. It's not my fault you're such a piggy that it's all gone by the time I get back. The vet even said you're a chunky brat."

Jacob's eyes narrowed as if he were offended and she huffed, "Don't look at me in that tone of voice. I'm going to shower."

Entering her bedroom, she picked up her phone. The screen lit up and she let out a small giggle.

 _'You think you got it all figured out, eh girl? What are you runnin from Belladonna? -P'_

She glanced into her bathroom and sighed before flopping backwards onto her bed.

 _'I wasn't running from anything except cellulite, thank you. -B'_

The response didn't take long..

 _'Not a bit on you, beautiful.'_ She rolled her eyes.

 _'My thighs scream otherwise, but thank you. You're the one who's fat free. It's almost criminal.'_

 _'Mmm.. Criminal? You gonna arrest me?'_ She looked up at the ceiling and let out a small squeak, knowing the blush across her face was probably looking close to a sunburn by now.

 _'I don't have the power to arrest you... But I DO own handcuffs.'_

 _'Don't threaten me with a good time.'_

 _'Shouldn't you be doing something productive?'_

 _'I am. I'm feeding my beast.'_

 _'Kinky. LoL'_

 _'I meant breakfast. You know, the one you didn't come to. No worries, I'm not ruining my figure you seem to like.'_

Her eyes widened, _'YOU were checking ME out this morning.'_

 _'You didn't deny you have, though. Besides.. Tell me you don't like these.'_ The resulting photo of him, obviously in his bedroom at home with his shirt off, made her clench her thighs together with a groan.

 _'That's it. I'm not feeding your ego. Go feed your face, I gotta shower.'_

 _'You wound me. Giving me the brush off and not even a picture in return.'_

 _'Pfft. Dream on. I'm not even cute yet. I'm all nasty from the running.'_

 _'I think you look good sweaty. We could sweat together sometime.'_

Squeak!

 _'Goodbye, Paul!'_

She hopped up from her bed and shook herself. That man was more sinful than Devil's Food cake.. He certainly warranted a call home to Leah. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she turned on the shower and raised an eyebrow. After a few pass-backs between her phone and her reflection, she felt mischief bubble up in her tummy. Two could play that game..

"Ma?" Paul called, tossing his jacket on the hook by the door.

"Why do you always have to yell? You know I'm not going anywhere."

Paul flopped down beside his ma and gave her a playful grin, "Wanna make sure you're not in here doing things that would scar me for life."

Sophia scoffed and waved her hand, "I'll send you to bed."

Paul groaned and stretched, "Don't threaten me with a good time." 

He was reminded of his back and forth with Bella earlier and couldn't help the chuckle that escaped. Sophia raised an eyebrow and he brushed her off, "Nothin. In fact, I'm gonna go grab some Z's. Dinner out tonight?"

Sophia smiled at her son and offered her cheek for a kiss, "Whatever you want."

He shook his head and kissed her cheek sloppily, "Be good!"

She turned her attention back to the movie she'd been watching and chuckled to herself as she heard his footsteps on the stairs. Her son would never change, bless him.

Paul stripped down to his boxers and flopped down onto his bed, moving to switch off his light. The dim light made him groan in relaxation as he stretched out. Out of habit, he looked at his phone to check the time and noticed he'd missed a message from Bella.

It turned out to be the Pandora's box of messages.

She was standing infront of her mirror, clearly in her bathroom. The image shimmered around her, he guessed steam from the shower. Her hair was down and messy, slightly damp. Her back was facing him and he groaned at the sight of her tight body and some dark green lace boyshorts blocking his view of her round cheeks. The smirk on her face as she turned, hands covering her bare side-boob made him instantly hard. He thought of her under him and knew he wouldn't be sleeping if he didn't get some relief.

 _'Game on, Belladonna. Game. On'_


	6. Chapter 6

You trick your lovers  
That you're wicked and divine  
You may be a sinner  
But your innocence is mine  
"Undisclosed Desires" by Muse

Paul groaned as he roused from his sleep. A glance at the clock told him it was around five. He had enough time to shower and look presentable before taking his ma out for dinner. He checked his phone and found no new messages from Bella. Oddly enough, it seemed to bother him and he wondered what the hell was going on.

He shuffled his way into the bathroom, scratching at himself in a man way before relieving himself. Glancing around, he sleepily grabbed a towel off the rack while flushing and moved to turn the shower on.

'AH! FUCK!"

The water had came out scalding hot since he'd flushed. A fact that half-awake Paul did not remember.

"Language!" He heard his mother yell from downstairs and rolled his eyes.

"Ma! This is New York! Fuck shouldda been my first word!"

Her reply was drowned out as he entered the shower and dove under the warm spray. He was never one to let a shower go to waste and lingered after he was done washing, enjoying the ripples of warmth running across his skin as he leaned against the shower wall. He turned it off when the water began to run cold and wrapped a towel around his waist before walking down the hall to his room, tossing the towel in a pile by the door with the others before entering. If Sophia were able to get up the stairs still, he knew she'd have his ass for the mess in the hall.

He dressed casual but nice, throwing on a pair of jeans with a white tee and a pair of dark boots. He tossed his phone in his pocket out of habit and made his way downstairs.

"Ma, you know where you wanna eat?"

However, at the sight of her his heart sank. The doctor's words floated through his mind but he pushed them away. It had only been one opinion and he promised not to let it affect him until it was confirmed. Sophia looked exhausted even though it was clear she too had napped. She sighed, "Oh Pauly.. Can't we order in?"

He felt the weight of sadness settle on his shoulders as he sat down beside her and wrapped her in his arms, "Yeah Ma. Whatever you want. You call the guys and get whatever you want."

She reached up and patted his cheek and he faked a smile. Sophia didn't miss the lack of sparkle in her son's eyes and her heart broke. Paul had been taking care of her for so long and had sacrified so much. She felt like a terrible mother, despite what her son told her.

Once their food was delivered, they rented a movie on the television and cracked jokes. Paul could almost pretend she wasn't sick. He was going to throw their trash away when he heard the message alert on his phone.

 _'Hey Gamer Boy. Wanna play?'_

Paul raised an eyebrow and glanced into the living room before turning his back, as if he were doing something sneaky. _'Play? What do you have in mind?'_

 _'Meet me in about thirty minutes and find out.'_

Paul groaned internally. He knew he should walk away. Bella knew nothing about who he was or what he did and when she found out about his job she was sure to come after him with a bat.. But..

 _'Text me the details.'_

Sophia was curled back up when he walked back into the living room and he squatted down to kiss her cheek, "I'm going out for a bit, Ma. Call me if you need me. At all. I don't care if you fall going to pee."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm fine. Go on. It's rare that you go out. Men your age should be out having fun, not hanging with old ladies like me."

He shook his head and his smile lit her up, "You're not old, Ma. You're timeless."

Entering the park, he raised an eyebrow at Bella sitting atop the swingset, "This is what you meant by play?"

Bella smiled and looked down at him. She had no idea what it was about him, but she was drawn like a moth to a flame. Hopefully, he wouldn't burn her.

"Nah. This was just a meeting spot. I had planned to hide and sneak up on you when you got here, but I can't get down from here."

Paul chuckled and held his arms up, "Come on, Doll. I'll catch you. Trust me."

Bella squirmed a bit in apprehension but forced herself to push off. True to his word, Paul caught her right in his arms. She went to move away but his arms kept her locked in place. She looked up and their eyes locked. She blushed and his tell-tale smirk graced his handsome face, "Thanks..."

Her body was humming. He smelled so good and he was so warm.. His fingers flexed their hold on her hips and her heart began to pound.

She was lost when he stepped away and at his quiet chuckle she glared.

"Payback for this morning. And perhaps a bit of an experiment. Now, where we goin'?"

"Where ARE we going? We're going to a bar. You're taking me dancing."

Dancing? Paul groaned. Would he ever get away from dancing?

Guilt filtered through him when Bella offered her hand for him to take. He should walk away right now. He should tell her that he's not exactly who and what she thinks he is. He felt the words of his confession on the tip of his tongue..

"Lead the way." He smiled, threading his fingers through hers. His heart skipped a beat when her eyes lit up like the Fourth of July and her smile shone so bright that it almost lit up every single dark spot in his heart. The feelings she brought out in him amazed him because he'd only known her a short time. He should stay away, but he knew he wouldn't and couldn't..

If you had asked either of them what the name of the bar Bella took them to was, they wouldn't be able to tell you. They wouldn't recall what they drank, who they spoke to or what songs were played except for their first and last..

Paul had been so consumed with the female who had seemingly placed a spell on him. When Bella had pulled him away from the bar and out onto the dance floor, he wondered if anyone would call him out on who he was. When that didn't happen, he relaxed a bit more. Bella had looked up at him with such an expression that he felt possessed with the need to touch her. He pulled her closer to him, his hands encircling her waist. She had purred and rubbed against him like a needy feline, running her hands up his chest to loop behind his neck. She smelled like cherries and coconuts and his mouth watered with the desire to see if she tasted nearly as good as she smelled. Skin so soft.. Fingertips so light as she teasingly traced the tattoos on his chest as they danced together. He wondered if she could feel his racing heart under her fingers and if she could hear it over the music.

She was the sexiest woman he had ever been with.. Giving him the most erotic experience he'd ever had.. And they were fully clothed.

Bella gasped when he swiftly spun her so her back was to his front. She felt two of his fingers tangle their way through her belt loops and her world spun when she felt his heat pressing against her. The music slowed in her ears and tingles shot through her body as he began to grind with her. His head dipped low and she almost went weak-kneed as his breath fanned across her neck. They were pressed together so tightly and it still didn't feel like enough to her. She felt like she was on an out-of-control rollercoaster and all she wanted was for it to go faster and faster.

His lips brushed across the side of her neck and she let out a soft moan. She felt his chuckle and she lost control. She turned in his arms and pressed her lips to his. He groaned and briefly broke away from her, looking for a place he could take her. He spotted an open booth in the corner and nudged her to it. Desire flared in her eyes as he basically pushed her into it. She smirked and straddled him when he sat, his eyes going wide in surprise before darkening with lust. He pressed down on her hip, pressing his hard, denim-covered length against her. He finally got part of his fantasy as he tangled his fingers in her wild, loose hair and pulled her lips roughly back to his, earning a purr from her.

The taste of cherries overwhelmed him as her lips opened for him. Consumed with her taste and her scent, he was getting lost in her. The heat between them was so overwhelming he was surprised the entire bar didn't go up in flames.

"Excuse me?"

He growled at the intruder as Bella pulled her lips from his and buried her face in his neck. He glared over at the poor innocent young barmaid who was standing there with her order-pad. "I.. I'm sorry b-but my manager.."

Paul rolled his eyes, "Yeah.. Yeah.. It's okay. Sure." He handed her a few loose bills and slid out of the booth, groaning when Bella slid down his body. He automatically took her hand in his and she followed as he pulled them both out of the bar.

Bella kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as they walked. She let out a breath of air as they made it back to the place she'd had them meet and pulled her hand out of his. His eyes swirled with confusion and she bit her lip, stepping a few steps away. That way he couldn't touch her and cloud her mind again.

"What was that?" She asked, her eyes piercing right through him. He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"What is anything between us? You should have just been some chick who I helped out. Ever since I met you, I've been wondering about everything."

Her breath caught in her throat, "What are you doing to me?"

His eyes darkened with a challenge and something else she couldn't place, "I could ask you the same question."

Seconds passed between them that felt like hours as they simply stared at each other. Bella frowned when he stepped back with a shaky laugh and yelled up to the sky "FUCKIN' A!"

She crossed her arms and hoisted herself up on a swing that had been wrapped around the top several times. The part of her mind that was consumed with the man infront of her whispered that if Paul would just come back closer, she could wrap her legs around his waist. "Am I that horrible that this requires a 'fuck' situation?"

He stared at her for a moment as if she'd suddenly sprouted pink feathers and declared herself queen of the flamingoes.. Then his body relaxed and he slid his hands inside his jacket, "I wanna take you out."

Her eyebrow raised, "As in the Mafia way or a good way?"

"On a date, Belladonna. You and me. I want to explore this..." he stepped forward and grabbed the chain of her swing, leaning in so close she started to get drunk on his scent almost instantly, "Chemistry.. We have."

"More like animal magnetism" She muttered.

"Mmm.. Baby, you have no idea what kind of beast I am. You should really, really stay away."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

He moved backwards just a bit and cupped her cheek, forcing her eyes to meet his. She saw hints of pain, loneliness and fear, "Because I don't want to hurt you, Belladonna."

Her heart clenched, "We all have our secrets, Paul.. Are you intentionally going to hurt me?"

He swallowed and gripped the chains tighter, "No. Never. I was raised better than that."

She smiled softly and brushed her fingertips lightly over his cheek, "Then take me on a date. Show me who you are."

He nodded and brushed a kiss across her cheek, "Okay, we'll do this your way."

She chuckled and slid down his body off the swing before ducking under his arm. He watched her walk away for a second before snapping himself back into the moment, "Where'r'ya goin'?!"

She turned, hands in her jacket and a smile on her face. Under the moonlight, she looked like a fallen angel. "Home. Call me."

"Ain't I supposed to walk you or somethin' gentle-man-ly like that?"

Bella shrugged, "If you did that, who's to say we'd make it to our date?"

Then she was gone and he was left gobsmacked.

 _Bella groaned as teeth skimmed over the sensitive parts of her hips. He was tracing each tattoo with his teeth and tongue while she was gripping the headboard with all the control she had. She had let go at the beginning of this game and he'd punished her.._

 _Her skin was on fire with need and her core was aching. He ran a hand up her leg and her thighs parted for him. With a low purr of satisfaction, his fingertips skimmed over her dripping slit._

" _Do you want me?"_

" _Yes!" She cried out, wanton and begging._

 _Jolts of pleasure shot through her body as he swirled a finger around her core, "Look at me."_

 _She was lost as his tongue licked her nectar off his fingertip and his eyes burned with unsatisfied lust._

" _Let go.." He gently helped her lower her arms around his neck as he took his place between her open legs, his hot and weeping erection brushing against her soaked center._

 _She whimpered and lifted her hips to his as he brushed an achingly tender kiss across her lips. "I'll take care of you, Belladonna."_

 _The breath left her as he slowly entered her and began a slow, pleasure-inducing cadence of thrusts. She wrapped her legs around his waist and they moaned together as the position brought him deeper and he brushed against the most pleasurable place inside of her. Her nails dragged down his skin as he began to steadily increase until she felt like she was about to explode and lost all conscious thought other than yelling_

"PAUL!"

Her eyes looked all around her room as she realized she was indeed alone.. Her hand was inside her now-soaked pajama bottoms an his name was ringing in her ears..

She collapsed against her pillow, "DAMMIT!"


	7. Chapter 7

Oh my beautiful liar  
Oh my precious whore  
My disease my infection  
I am so impure

"Reptile" by Nine Inch Nails

Paul had stayed up for a few hours after he'd arrived back home from his night out with Bella. Sophia was asleep, so he quietly went upstairs to his room. Closing the door, he'd grabbed his iPod and opened his bedroom window before creeping out onto the fire escape.

He sat there for a long time, lost in his thoughts. He really did like Bella. Everything he had said to her had been the truth, but he knew the big piece was still missing. Bella thought he was a fireman and a part-time bartender. He was sure that in her eyes, he was some respectable man but in reality, he was who he was..

Around four am, he decided to head to bed earlier than normal.

'Good morning to you and good night from me.' He sent off to her before crawling into bed.

Bella had just finished a run when she got the text message from Paul. After her amazing, very lucid dream, she couldn't fall back asleep. Deciding against sending a reply, she went into her spare room and sighed in a way someone did when they were about to do something they loved.

She turned her iHome on and ran her finger over the screen. Enya began to filter through her speakers as she stretched, transporting her to a fantasy world. The music stilled..

 _She was on a darkened stage standing all alone. The silence filtered through her and she began to hear the cadence of her heartbeat. She kept her breathing even, anticipating what she knew was to come.._

The opening strains of 'Hey Mama' began to filter through the speakers and her body prepared for the first move. So many numbers, songs, motions and forms filtered through her head until her muscle memory began the routine to the random iPod song.

She had always been told that Broadway was not an easy place to break in to. She knew that if you weren't able to sing, don't go to an audition where the part had singing involved. She knew not to move your lips while you danced, because the casting directors would think you were counting to yourself and place you on a secondary list, if any list at all. The biggest worry her parents had about her coming to New York was not that she wouldn't fail, but that she would ultimately stop trying and settle. She didn't want to be a waitress forever, and she refused to be. She knew that the seedy stripclubs always tried to recruit hopeful dancers like her and she promised that she would return home, defeated, before turning to stripping.

She had nothing against those that stripped. To her, anyone with that amount of confidence was able to do whatever they wanted. But her dancing was special to her and she felt such a passion that shaking her ass on a stage for dollar bills would destroy her soul..

Too soon the song was over and she was back in her little spare room. She stared at herself in one of her mirrors for a few moments before shaking her head and walking out.

Paul frowned later that evening when he came down after getting ready for work and Sophia was sleeping again. It wasn't like her to sleep so much. A glance at the clock told him her weekly nurse would be arriving shortly and he left a note for the woman about his concerns. Hopefully, it was just a side-effect from one of her new medications. The second doctor's office still hadn't called and Paul was trying to hard to keep the worries from his mind. He adjusted the blankets over his mother before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Love you, Ma." He whispered before grabbing his stuff and leaving.

Blue Night at the club and with one glance at the front entrance, he covertly snuck around to the back. He had to push away the negative feelings about his job. From a professional stand-point, there was nothing wrong with his job. He went to work, provided excellent 'customer service' and made money. Most men would love to be able to get paid to let women look at their bodies. The problem with his job was from a moral stand-point. Paul knew his mother wouldn't approve of him shakin' his money maker. While he wasn't a hooker, he was getting paid to take off his clothes. He knew that if he had been married when his washout had happened, his wife would not have approved of him stripping to take care of their family. Sometimes, he was proud of his job. When he brought in a great night for the club or when he saw a girl come in surrounded by friends, tear streaks on her face, and he made her light up with a dance and a few kind words.. But he knew he was meant for better things than what he was doing. The problem with those other things was the money required to maintain his chosen life. Stripping paid the bills.

Walking out to the front, he nodded at Donnie who was at his usual place behind the bar setting up for the night. He walked up the stage and through the curtain to the employee board to check the line-up for the night. It was a week-day, so he wasn't expected to headline. Instead, he was going to be doing a group number. Glancing over at the song choice, he groaned. He may not be headlining, but he was surely going to be the main attraction.

He almost laughed. When Candy had found out how he'd learned a few of his moves, like the twerking, she'd completely ripped off a dance for "It's Raining Men" from Magic Mike. He was put front in center in place of Channing Tatum. He'd protested, asked if it was all a big joke and if he was expected to perform.. Two days later, Candy had 'tried it out' for a huge crowd of women who had packed the place from Candy's creative advertising. The routine had stuck and Paul was in a perpetual state of eye-rolling in his mind every single time.

He walked down the hall to the dressing room and tossed his stuff at his table.

"Yo! La-Hottie!"

He laughed and shook his head, "It's raining men tonight, Scott."

He glanced over his shoulder in the mirror at the other man who was already dressed, lounging on their comfy couch with a water in hand. "It will be raining something when we're done, but it won't be men."

Paul raised an eyebrow, "You into rainmakers?"

"You aint?"

"You know that's piss, right?"

"Show me the science!"

James popped into the room twirling his umbrella, "I can hear you two bitching from the bar. Better keep it down. Candy'll get mad her two precious boys are fighting."

Paul rolled his eyes, "We're not fighting. Don't be the baby brother that goes and tattles to mommy either."

James let out a low purr, "Candy is _anything_ but my mommy."

Paul and James glanced at each other before scrunching up their face, "Dude!"

Paul pulled up his pants for their number with a glance at James, "You know your brother was living in Cougar Town?"

James grimaced, "I'm just going to bleach my brain now, yeah?"

Bella sighed as she sat in her living room, TV murmuring low in the background as she tried to read a book. Tried being the operative word. Her night with Paul the previous night before, and the resulting dream, had made it so she couldn't concentrate all day. He'd sent her a text not long ago but she knew he was working now and wouldn't be able to talk to her.

She looked down at her clothes and then to her front door. She had a vague idea of the area he worked in didn't she? She assumed so.. Based on where he'd been when they first met and the resulting meeting after when he was walking out of a building when she'd seen him while running. He was a bartender if she remembered correctly. With a small smirk, she decided she could use a drink.

Paul had got to razz her at work, so perhaps it was time for her to repay the favor. And if he was at the firehouse instead of working the bar that night, so be it. She tossed her book on the table and grabbed her keys before sliding on her boots.

"Don't wait up, Jake!" She called to the cat as she practically flew out the door.

It didn't take her long to find the building, but it was the back exit she'd found. With a shiver, she walked her way through the dark, damp alley between the place and another building. She was shocked at the gathering of people around the front. None of them seemed to be waiting, so she opened the door and walked down the dark hallway until she got to a lit area infront of a velvet curtain.

"Twenty five cover tonight, doll." The lady behind the podium said automatically, holding her hand out for the cash as she popped her gum and read from a magazine. Bella raised an eyebrow, "Why so high?"

The lady glanced up and gave Bella a look she couldn't quite place before smirking, "It's raining men tonight, honey."

Bella paid the woman and walked through the curtain before standing stock still. Paul worked at a strip club? And not just any strip club, but a male/female strip club? It seemed the main stage had just finished whatever had been going on but she caught the glimpse of two pair of white cheeks disappearing behind a curtain. Woodenly, she made her way up to the bar.

"What can I get ya?" She glanced up at the bartender and then kept trying to look around.

"I'm looking for Paul Lahote?"

The man raised an eyebrow, "Who's askin'?"

"My name's Bella. Paul's a really good friend of mine." She felt really exposed under the gaze of this bartender.. in a stripclub.. where she was..

The man paused before nodding his head, "He's on the upper bar tonight, the lucky SOB. I'm down here with all the cock-hound ladies. Let me uh.. Let me get him for you, yeah?"

Bella nodded and he pushed a water at her before he left, passing his partner for the night and murmuring a few things.

"YO! PAUL!"

Paul turned when Donnie entered the room and raised an eyebrow, "You strippin' now, Don?"

The other guy's eyes flashed before he waved his hand off, "I'd get you fired and put you outta work, guy. There's a chick at the bar askin' for you."

Paul frowned in confusion, "A chick?"

Donnie shrugged, "She asked for you by first and last name, so she must actually know you. But she seemed to not realize you were part of the stage act that had just finished so.. A Bella?"

Paul's eyes widened and his heart stopped. Bella was here? He felt a trickle of relief that she hadn't seen him, but if he couldn't get rid of her before his next dance she was sure to know. And he had to get through the crowd of women.. Unless..

"Bring her to VIP 7."

Donnie nodded and Paul hurried to dress in his floor clothes. He didn't spare the others any time to question what was going on as he shot out of the room and down to the black-velvet covered doors of VIP 7.

Was he about to lose Bella before he even had her?


	8. Chapter 8

I'm just a stranger, who made a wager, for my life. (I'm afraid that, so afraid that)  
I might not escape this time.  
Caught in this nightmare, dreams turn to thin air,  
This is the heart against the mind.

"Heart VS Mind" by I Prevail

Paul was sure his heart was going to explode when he closed the door behind him and saw her sitting in the chair, the stage between them.

"Belladonna!"

Her smile lit up her entire face and his stomach knotted because he knew she was happy because he was there. He wondered how happy she would be if she knew that he was a dancer and not just a bartender. Would she be upset that he wasn't a fireman like she thought? He'd never expressly told her he was, but she'd seen him in his uniform twice now..

"Hey. I came to get a drink because I didn't realize..."

He laughed in an attempt to be himself and cover his nervousness. "You didn't realize this was a joint where people take their clothes off for money?"

The blush that covered her face was beautiful and he realized there were so many sides to the woman infront of him. He wanted to be able to know them all, but would he get to if she knew his secrets?

"The guy at the bar said you were upstairs."

Paul made a mental note to do all of the bitch work for Donnie for at least a month.. Maybe two..

"Yeah. We've got two floors. Downstairs is the main area, but sometimes events draw enough that we open up the top."

"He said you were a lucky guy because he was stuck with the girls. Does that mean you're up there with guys watching girls?"

He searched wildly for anything to say but chose to deflect, crossing the room to sit infront of her on the stage, "Nah. I don't look at any of the girls. Working here so long and behind the scenes, we're all like family."

Bella smiled and teased, "And the men?"

Paul's eyes widened a fraction before he barked out a laugh, "You caught me, Doll. I would love to switch places with Donnie and see all the oiled up guys."

Bella's eyes sparkled, "I bet you'd put them all to shame."

His gaze softened a bit, "Thanks for that. But I don't think you'd like it very much if I were stripping, would you?"

Bella tilted her head thoughtfully, "Would I like it very much? Probably not. But it wouldn't change who you are. We all have our secrets, Paul. Maybe you'll get to learn a few of mine when you get around to scheduling that date you asked for."

Shock coursed through Paul as if he'd licked a livewire, "Maybe."

Bella looked away, breaking their moment, "So. I guess I'm not allowed to go upstairs so you can make me a drink and I can harass you, huh?"

The lies made him taste ash in his mouth, but he still forced a grim smile and shook his head, "Sorry. No ladies allowed upstairs tonight. Three parties going on. I'll make you a drink in private one day."

Bella stood and leaned over to kiss his cheek, "I'll hold you to that."

Paul collapsed on the stage after she walked out the door and groaned. The crisis had been averted this time, but he would have to tell her at some point. It was slightly comforting to know she wouldn't hate him if she knew he was stripping, but he didn't know if it would completely blow his chances of having her in his life. Or in his bed. He made a mental note to give her back the money she'd paid as a cover to get in the club and hoisted himself up. He needed a drink before his next show and to thank Donnie..

As the night went on, Paul managed to snap himself back into his work persona. On Pink night, there was a girl called Dusty Rose (yep) who danced to a song called "If You Seek Amy" by Britney Spears. He had heard the song a million times but had never really understood what it meant until they were closing up one night and "Dusty" had transformed into someone who looked entirely different from the girl on stage. The only way he had identified her was by the large tattoo sleeve down her right arm. The left arm was apparently a work in progress. She'd seen his shocked expression and laughed, "You're not used to the transformation are ya, Chief?" He'd simply shaken his head and she slid onto one of the bar stools requesting a Coke. He handed it to her and she popped the top, shooting him an appraising glance.

"There's a reason I dance to that song." She had said, taking a small sip before running her finger along the rim, "Basically, Britney is saying when she goes out into the spotlight, she transforms into a different person. Or at least, the subject of her song does. If they're partying or being someone they usually aren't, that's 'Amy'.. Then they go home and they go back to the person they really are. I transform from Dusty back to plain Jessica at the end of the day."

When Paul was at work, he was Chief. Out of those four walls, he was simply Paul. Paul was lost in the world with a sick mother, a dead career dream and a girl who interested him more than any others had. Chief was confident, a sexual prowler and the man who women creamed their panties for.

He had zero balance between the two. When he danced, Paul was hidden away all on his own. When he was with Bella or his mother, Chief was locked in one of those Go-Go cages thrusting his hips and pouring baby oil on himself. Paul had never brought anyone to the club, ever. In fact, it was one of Candy's rules. She called it the Coyote Ugly rule since she'd stolen it from a movie with the same name.

No boyfriends/girlfriends/husbands/wives/etc in the club.

Knowing the rule, he hadn't been shocked when he'd walked into the dressing room to change for his last set to see Candy sitting on his table with her legs crossed and a cigarette in her fingers.

"Candy.."

She glanced over at him while exhaling a cloud of smoke, "Are you breaking my rules, Paul?"

He sighed, "Not technically, no."

"Technically?"

He flinched at her icy tone and raised eyebrow, "Her name is Bella. I didn't know she would show up here. She thinks I'm a bartender. She is not my girlfriend."

"But?"

"The jury's still out, Candy. I got her out of here. I'm working on it."

Candy hopped off his table and took the few steps to be standing dangerously close. Paul had the mental image of a viper coiled ready to strike and had to fight to not flinch, "Get your shit together, Paul. I care for you like family, but this is business. Don't bring drama into my home and this IS my home."

Paul clenched his teeth, eyes trained on the floor, "I understand."

"Good. I have your last set to the Twins. You can start cashing out early and then help Don behind the bar. I hear you owe him one."

Paul let out a breath as she walked out of the room. Things were getting complicated and he had no idea how to un-fuck it all up. He flopped down on the couch in the room and his eyes landed on his bag. Just peeking out of the open zipper, he could see his phone. In the old days, when he had problems he would call Benny. However, the old days were just that- the old days. He hadn't spoken to Benny since that day in the House, even though his former partner had tried calling him several times. It used to be several times a day, then weeks.. The trickle was now every few months. Paul knew if he continued to ignore Benny, there would be a day the calls stopped entirely.

With a shaky breath, he stood and grabbed his phone out of the bag. He punched in a few numbers and sighed when he heard the click of an answer.

"Hey, it's me. I really need to see you..."

He felt like he was in a dream as he sat in the old familiar apartment, on the worn-out couch that would murder your back, waiting for the coffee he knew would be utter crap but it didn't matter because it was coffee.

"Spit it out, kid."

He snapped his head up and felt his insides clench as his eyes fell on Benny. A torrent of emotions threatened to overtake him, the most prominent being guilt.

"I'm sorry." It fell from his mouth so easily but it burned as if he'd tried to swallow lava.

"Me too. Now. What's going on?"

So easily, Paul found himself spilling his guts to his old partner. Benny sat sipping on his coffee while Paul had taken barely a sip out of his own cup. The words wouldn't stop and he was shocked when they finally halted and he realized tears were just falling without restraint from his eyes.

Benny sighed, "Ahh kid."

They talked. Benny let him have it for his behavior and then he soothed the burn with comforting words only his old ass could provide. They moved from the living room to outside at some point and before Paul realized, it was noon and Sophia was calling his phone. Benny waved him off without so much as a goodbye and Paul made it two steps before he turned and threw his arms around the older man.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Just fix it. And don't go so long without callin' next time, Mista Muscles."

Paul nodded and made his way down the steps of the beat up apartment building and to his car, feeling better than he had.

He just had to make sure he didn't fuck everything up.

Bella groaned when she heard the knocking on her door. It was her day to sleep in and she'd barely slept after leaving Paul's work. Seeing him in that club had given her dreams that kept leaving her awake and sweating, calling out for him. In her fantasies, he gave her a private show in a room much like the one she'd met him in. She had ran her fingers over his abs and he'd done touching of his own.

She had finally made it into a relatively peaceful sleep, only to have the knocking jerk her back out.

Paul stood on the other side of the door smirking and she blinked owlishly at him. He'd never seen a more adorable sight as Bella stood there, rumpled with sleep.

"Belladonna."

His husky tone awoke something in her and she felt her cheeks flush, "Paul. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be sleeping or something?"

His gaze raked over her entire body, leaving her to feel exposed, "Not gonna ask me in?"

She frowned, "Answer my question."

She stepped back as he took a step forward, only for him to pull her into his arms as he closed the door behind him. His body heat warmed her all over and she let out a gasp as he dipped his head down. Her body hummed as his breath caressed her skin and his whisper set her ablaze, "I'm here to completely ruin you for other men, Bella Swan. That's a promise."


	9. Chapter 9

No heels,  
No shirt,  
No skirt,  
All I'm in is just skin.  
No jeans,  
Take em off,  
Wanna feel your skin.  
You a beast, oh.  
You know that I like that.  
Come here baby,  
All I wanna see you in is just skin  
 **"Skin" by Rihanna**

He grabbed her hips. Paul's cropped hair touched her forehead. Bella's mind was reeling. Had he said ruin? She was quite sure he'd just said he was going to ruin her. She wanted him to so very badly and the rational side of her wondered what it was about him...

"Talk. Move your lips."

In the inch between them, his crotch bulged and pressed her thigh. Bella's heart pounded in her chest..

"What are you doing? We should talk first, shouldn't we?"

Paul's fingers fumbled with the knot on her pajama shorts.

"You know what I'm doing. You know what I want. We can't just talk. Everytime I think of talking to you, but then I see you face to face and I can't think of anything else."

Paul gasped, froze, felt her hands brush up and down his legs. The power returned to him. He grabbed her hips and lifted her. For one beat, she gasped and panic lit her eyes. He sucked her lip between his, felt around, probed both with his tongue. She moaned and practically melted against him, stepping backwards further into her living room. She broke the kiss to make sure the door was locked and then looked up at him with those Bambi eyes. He glanced around her living room and smirked at the portable fireplace, fluffy black swirl rug making him think of sin. She would look beautiful laid out on it...

His eyes darkened as he growled out. "I'm going to defile you. Get on the rug."

He tugged her down as he knelt, her tanktop straining against her skin. It stretched and out popped her whole chest before snapping. He pulled the pieces away. "You think I have no idea what I'm doing," he growled, her waist between his knees. Paul yanked her shorts until they too tore away. The noise burst through the room to Bella as she lay bare before him.. He tossed the ruined clothing away. She panted.

"You have me naked but you're still fully dressed. We should decide how to fix that.."

"I'll decide how." Paul leaned back and flicked on the fireplace, watching the shadows it created dance across her skin in her dark living room. "C'mere." He made a vague gesture and beckoned.

She moved as if floating, licking her lips as she slid her body up and against his. Bella touched his thighs, delicate and controlled. He kicked off his shoes and shoved down his jeans. Both hands took her face. Streaks of soot left from the ashes of incense streaked down her face from his fingertips and he wondered at the irony. He'd thought to taint her, now the darkness from his touch was evident against her beautiful, porcelain skin. One cheek and half her neck went black. The soot smeared her shoulder. Her lips parted and he saw her wet tongue. Her face dropped, hair cascading over his bare chest to his waist like a waterfall. She sucked in half of him and moaned into his shaft. He held her silky chestnut mane, gently tangling around his fingers. She looked up at him and slid him the rest of the way into her throat. When her lips touched his base, they moved with her moans. She held his back and moved him just an inch through her throat. Paul gasped, grabbed her neck and pulled her away.

"Not yet."

He leaned up to cover his hands in the ashes and Bella mentally smacked herself for not keeping a tidier apartment. Then again, he seemed to not care one bit...

Paul planted a handprint on each of her hips and pushed her onto the rug. Bella crawled, showed him her thick ass. His hands left black trails up her legs, over her thighs. Her glistening, bald lips showed one fold of the pink inside. He held each ass cheek, kneeled up and watched his cock thicken at her. The head touched her hot thigh and traced toward her opening. She widened, her wetness opened by itself. He touched her juices, paused and glanced at the door that surely led to her bedroom.

"Come on." Paul stood, clutched her by the sooty arm, walked her to the room and she fell against her silk, red comforter as he flicked a switch. Dim light spilled over their bodies. He pressed her into the mattress. Her hands smeared his chest black. He cupped her breast and tasted her pert hard nipple, covered it in soot and shoved his cock into her. It bumped the back and she whined.

"Your neighbors are going to hear this," he whispered.

Bella's face went serious. Her eyelids screwed shut. She shivered and moaned at each thrust, rocked with him, leaned back and held his shoulders. Her fingers trembled and she squeaked, a shrill soprano. She pouted and moaned quicker, rougher and she screamed. Paul felt his pleasure build. Bella slowed and her wetness went loose, calm.

"Did you just come?" Paul snarled. "You're not done yet."

She quivered again and touched soot on his tiny nipples. They smeared the bedspread. Damp slaps burst from their thighs. Her fingers loosened. She trembled, opened her mouth wide and could barely say anything but his name. Paul felt his dam break. He roared. She fell into the fabric. Paul clutched the headboard with one hand and he filled her completely.

Paul looked down at her and felt his sanity returning as she panted underneath him. Her fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck before she pulled him down for one of the sweetest kisses he'd ever had after sex..

Far later, she stood with a smirk gracing her face.

"Are you done with me now?"

Paul watched with a lust-filled gaze as she made her way into her bathroom. She left the door open and he practically moaned in satisfaction of her invitation as he heard the shower turn on..

They still needed to talk.. But they both had to get clean too, right?

They sat beside each other on her couch, a pizza in front of them and a few sodas. They'd emerged from their private world to find that it was lunch time. Paul called his ma and made sure she was okay. She'd brushed him off saying that her day-nurse was going to take her out for a girl's day and his heart warmed. Bella had suggested ordering a pizza so they could eat and talk.

"Not the date you were hoping for, huh?"Paul broke the silence before grabbing a loose pepperoni off his plate and devouring it.

Bella giggled and shook her head, "Not really. But you don't see me complaining."

"No worries. I'm going to do this right, eventually. I just knew that we..."

"Had to fuck like wild animals before we could talk about ourselves like civilized people?"

Paul laughed and nodded, "Somethin' like that. After you showed up at the club last night, I realized a few things and that made this talk overdue."

"You don't really owe me anything, Paul. I'm not your girlfrien-"

"Yet... I hope..."

Bella raised an eyebrow and continued, "I'm not your girlfriend. You're free to keep all your secrets until you feel like they should come out."

He shook his head, "I want to see if this will go anywhere. I need to. In doing that, I need to tell you a few things..."

Bella frowned at the serious tone in his voice and he watched her defenses raise, "Will this hurt me?"

"I don't know..."

"Have you heard from the doctor yet?" Laura, the day nurse, asked as Sophia relaxed in the massage chair. Today was a good day and Sophia was glad she had the energy to get out of the house. The new medications she'd been placed on had made her so tired the last few days and she knew Paul was probably worrying like crazy.

"I expect him to call any day now." She replied, cracking an eye open and looking at Laura. The other woman had become like a sister to her since they were so close in age. "You looking to get rid of me?"

Laura's face twisted and Sophia laughed, "I didn't mean that I would die. I meant in a positive sense, like me getting better."

Laura's face softened, "You know that I would love nothing more than for you to not need me anymore."

Sophia smiled gently and reached out to take the hand of her friend and care-taker, "Laura, even if I were to become completely better, I will always need you now. You've become such a good friend to me."

Laura swallowed back tears and gently squeezed Sophia's hand, "You're a great friend to me too, Soph."

They looked up as the giggling nail ladies stepped forward to begin their pedicures with their polish of choice. Laura raised an eyebrow at Sophia's color, "That's quite a bright green you've got there."

"Maybe it will electrify me since the color is Electric Green."

They gossiped about things that were safe to discuss in the presence of strangers and then waddled together to the drying station.

"So. How's Pauly?" Laura asked with a pointed glance through her glasses.

Sophia sighed, "He still hasn't told me exactly what's going on. I only know half the truth about a lot of things. I know that he's not doing anything illegal but beyond that I'm in the dark."

"Well. I did happen to see him with a girl the other day. A brunette."

Laura had to smile as it looked like the sun broke through the clouds in Sophia's eyes, "That must have been Bella. I met her the other day at the diner. Such a lovely girl and her and Pauly seemed to hit it off nicely. She could very well be the mother of my future grandbabies."

Laura laughed, "Marrying him off already?"

"I'm getting old. I want grandbabies before I die."

Silence fell around them and Laura felt the tension clog her throat and she couldn't speak. It was as if the elephant in the room that no one was talking about had suddenly let out the worst fart imaginable.

"Sophia..."

"I know, Laura.. I'm sorry."

Two tables over, a girl with jet black hair shooed her poor manicurist away to begin typing furiously on her phone. She had to know all about Paul and this mysterious girl and she had to know now. Jealousy welled up in her gut. Paul was hers, even if he didn't want to think so anymore. She had been nice this whole time, letting him take his clothes off for filthy women.. She didn't even tell his mother, the evil old bat that she was.

Now Paul had crossed a line. She glanced through her jet black locks at Sophia with a vicious smile. She could almost thank the woman.. As her phone began to vibrate she allowed the lady to finish her nails, mentally taking a few dollars away from her tip as she saw how long she'd been in the shop. Nevermind that she'd made the poor lady wait fifteen minutes while she talked to her friend about their trip over the weekend.. Samantha James was not a girl to fuck with.


	10. Chapter 10

A strong distaste for confrontation,  
Leaves no room for self expression,  
such a strain to remain so docile,  
Though don't you know it all takes its toll...

"It Never Gets Easier" by Straylight Run

Bella sighed to herself as she sat by herself in the little bakery by her apartment. She would occasionally glance up from picking at her triple chocolate muffin to glance out of the windows at the emotionless grey sky through the rain-beaded window. She was aware of the occasional glances thrown her way by random patrons but she didn't even react. Every once in awhile, the waitress would come refresh her coffee and she would respond automatically. She was drinking it black by this point and usually she had to have enough sugar to give an elephant 'diabeetus' for it to even have a chance of being consumed.

Her thoughts were on Paul and the conversation they'd had the previous day. She was trying to wrap her head around the Paul she thought she knew and who he actually was. The two weren't so completely different that she thought she was going to split her skull open, but she did have a lot to think about.

 _Paul sighed and turned to look into Bella's eyes. He could see the fear swirling in their depths, with flickers of hope. He didn't want to crush this beautiful woman. Someway.. Somehow.. She had taken up residence in a small portion of his heart. He knew that it would hurt if she left, no matter how small that space was. She was in there, tucked among his mom and very few others.._

" _I don't want to hurt you, Bella.."_

 _She raised an eyebrow, trying to hard to keep an indifferent mask on her face, "Then don't."_

" _It's not that simple. Some of the things I have to tell you, you probably won't like. I really hope they don't make you hate me, but they could make you want to have nothing to do with me again.. Even if we did just have amazing sex."_

 _Bella let out a small giggle and peered at him through her thick lashes, "Should I be afraid?"_

 _He shook his head, "I don't know. I know that I'm entirely afraid of your reaction.."_

" _Just spit it out."_

" _When you came to the club.. I wasn't working upstairs."_

 _She frowned, "Then where were you? You do really work there, right?"_

 _He nodded, "I work there.. But I was on the bottom floor."_

" _Then why weren't you behind the bar?"_

" _I wasn't bartending that night.. Do you remember a few of the things we talked about?"_

 _He knew the minute she understood what he was telling her. He saw the shock and disbelief hit her like a bolt of lightening. She stood up and started pacing, "No. No. You told me you're a-"_

" _I am a bartender. When it's pink nights, I bartend. I didn't lie about looking at the girls though, they're like my family."_

" _No. You're kidding. You have to be. I saw you in your fireman uniform the day we met. You're a firefighter."_

 _She turned to fix him with a glare only to be confused by the anguish she saw in his eyes. The grimace on his face and the way he clenched his fists as he stared at her.. She was having emotional whiplash._

" _I was a firefighter. I was even told I was one of the best. They recruited me straight away and trained me. I loved my job, I loved helping people. Being a fireman was a dream job and I loved living my dream. My partner was a fantastic mentor and we grew close like family. I thought I was close with everyone.. But there was an incident with a big rig and I did some things in front of a guy I wasn't supposed to. I wasn't exactly by the book. There was no three-strike option with it and they turned me away. I got angry but then I panicked. Ma is so sick and I had to be able to take care of her.. I saw this ad in the paper.."_

 _His voice caught and Bella sat beside him with a soft look in her eyes that he missed. She placed her hand ontop of one of his fists but he pulled away and stood up._

" _I don't like what I have to do. I know it's not a job my ma would be proud to say her son has. She thinks I'm strictly a bartender, or at least she plays like that."_

" _Paul.."_

" _Don't say anything. Don't say you accept it, don't cuss me out yet, don't do nothin'. Just think about it. And once you've thought of what all of this means, how all of our tomorrows would play out, then you can make your decision. Once all of that's done, call me. I'll listen while you tell me you either love me or hate me."_

 _He quickly brushed a kiss, soft but so heartfelt, across her lips before rushing out of her apartment._

Paul was a stripper...

The night she had tried to ambush him at work, he had just gotten done taking off his clothes for several women, strangers...

It started to support his sick mother, and more than likely is the reason he still strips..

He's ashamed of himself. The sheer amount of self-loathing he was putting off almost knocked her over. It was a vast difference from the cocky, self-assured, sex-on-legs Paul that she had equated him with.

But did it change him?

Paul's choice of work didn't change who he was, not any more than the fact that she wanted to be a dancer and she was a fucking waitress. Actually, shouldn't she admire what he was doing to help his mother? She didn't ask what was wrong with Sophia and Paul didn't volunteer, but the sorrow about her condition had been visible as Paul spoke.

She remembered the look on his face in the VIP room when he asked about her thoughts on stripping. Who was she to judge? She hadn't hit bottom enough to have to swallow her pride. Sure, someone can say that they would never put theirself in that position, and she had, but when push comes to shove who would honestly put their money where their mouth was and just let someone else suffer? Paul was not struggling. Paul was keeping his mother comfortable and seemingly happy. Paul was young and alive and did such fuck-awesome things to her body that she couldn't remember her name. She had started to care for Paul when she had thought he was a simple fireman/bartender..

She stood with determination, threw down some bills and walked out into the rain. Paul left before she could tell him ANYTHING and she'd be damned if she would give him her answer over a text or cellphone conversation.

"And you jus' left?!" Donnie exclaimed, waving his hands in the air with shock written all over his face. Paul had just finished his story about what had happened between himself and Bella, needing to tell someone (anyone) about it.

"What else could I do?"

The flat look that graced his friend's face made him mentally groan.

"What else could you'a done? You could'a let the broad talk! What if she has secrets too, eh? Because I can almost guarantee you she does. All dames do."

Paul resisted the urge to bang his head against the brick building wall they were leaning against, "I wasn't ready to hear her tell me how morally reprehensible I am."

Donnie raised an eyebrow, "Reprehensible, eh? Pretty big word for a classless stripper like you."

A middle finger was raised in reply and Donnie started laughing, "Boy'o, you should'a stuck around. She might'a surprised you."

Paul's phone burned in his pocket. He so badly wanted it to ring or chirp or vibrate or something signifying contact from Bella. He tried to tell himself it hadn't been that long but he was in agony.

"Why am I so hung up on this girl!?" He growled.

"What girl?"

The voice caused Paul to freeze, dread gripping his insides. Donnie was looking behind him with a confused expression and Paul strung together cuss words in his head so horrible, even a sailor would disapprove.

"Who're you?" Donnie grumped, crossing his arms.

"Pauly knows who I am. Don'cha babycakes?"

Paul slowly turned, "Sammy."

She had curled her hair up and Paul almost winced at her heavy makeup. Once, he had thought Samantha James was a beautiful girl. He'd charmed her (or so he thought) and was so sure she was Wifey material. When he brought her home to his mother, the two clashed. At the time, he had chalked it up to his ma not wanting to let someone else take care of her baby boy.. Until he went out with the guys after a tough call and found her wrapped around some string bean in a bar as if she were an octopus. He cut her loose and she turned into a stalker! She followed him, called him constantly and tried to scare off any girl who got close to him. He had thought he had given her the slip..

Obviously not.

She smiled brightly, popping her gum and making him grimace, "Hiya Pauly."

"Yo. This girl looks like if you lit a fire too close, all the paint on her would cause her to burst into flames!" Donnie commented under his breath, causing Paul to snicker.

"So Pauly" she said, looking 'casually' at her nails, "What girl?"

"I don't answer to you, Sammy."

Her voice was grating his nerves and he wanted so badly to go deaf temporarily. How had he ever thought Samantha James was the one? Her voice was like the kid from Teen Beach Movie who had giant hair, or that Fran Dress-hair lady.. She was so vapid and knew nothing about anything. The girl was born and bred in New York and yet she stood in front of him with another team's colors on her head!

"Awh. Baby boy. You know you love me."

He rolled his eyes, "What do you want, Sam? I've no time for you or games."

Her eyes flashed, "But you've got some hard-on for some waitress chick? Is that it?"

He felt ice settle in his stomach, "How do you know anything about her?"

"Oh, I've got my ways. You should know that by now. I probably know more about her than you do."

"Stay out of it!"

"Look. I've sat by and let you take your clothes off for gals who obvi ain't gettin' any. But I'm not gonna let it fly, you fuckin this girl and talkin about her this way. You're mine."

"That is so not what he said last night, bitch."

Paul felt his heart flutter (but not in a chick way, of course) when he heard Bella's voice. His body grew warm as she walked around the corner and leaned against the brick wall, a smirk gracing her beautiful lips. Her jeans looked painted on and he caught the sparkle of her belly ring as it caught the sun light. The crop top and black-leather jacket she was wearing should have been illegal. It made him want to grab her and pin her against the wall. He knew the wonderful things he could do to that body.. He was getting hard just thinking about it.

Sammy hissed and curled up like a feral cat, "What'd you say, bitch?"

Bella rolled her eyes and started walking slowly up the lane towards them, her heels clicking dramatically with each step, "You heard me.. Or does all that spray-tan eat up some precious brain cells? You look like a rat from Jersey."

Paul and Donnie couldn't help but laugh and Sammy growled in indignation, "You little whore!"

"Whore? Oh, you better look in the mirror. You're even painted up all pretty."

Sammy coiled like a cobra when Bella walked close and Paul smirked as she just slipped by him and curled her body against his, "Hiya Paul."

He let out her name like a prayer, "Belladonna."

"You and me, we have things to discuss."

He looked her up and down and smirked before motioning to the EMPLOYEE ONLY door of the club, "After you."

Donnie held the door open and they went inside, Sammy shrieking and cussing at them as the door closed without her.


	11. Chapter 11

Now you see me through my eyes  
And we're here now feeling the beat  
Of a thousand hearts  
Coming back to life again  
We can make it

"Anthem for the Underdog" - 12 Stones

Bella looked around the wide open room of the club as they entered from the stage. She felt her heart flutter at thoughts of being on stage for a different purpose. Paul's job was half of her desire, wasn't it? She wanted to dance.. Sure, she would prefer Broadway but she knew she had to start from the bottom. Where was the bottom? Surely stripping wasn't the bottom...

Paul jumped off the stage and then lifted his arms up to her in an offer to help her down. Their eyes met and Bella could see the uncertainty when he looked at her. She remembered those eyes full of caring and passion and could only hope that she would see that again. She had seen too many other emotions in the eyes of others she had cared for and Paul was already more important than she was willing to admit to herself. With a soft smile, she inserted herself into his arms and held on as he lowered her gently to the floor.

"Lahote, what'd I tell you last time?"

Paul winced at Candy's harsh tone and he turned to give a pleading look to the older woman, "I'm not breaking any rules. There's no drama with Bella and we're not even doing business right now."

Candy's eyes narrowed but she said nothing as she glared and walked up the stairs to her office.

Paul gave a small smile to Bella as he led her to VIP 1 and locked the door. VIP 1 was the highest dollar room of the club. It had a full bar, plush couches instead of a single chair, the most advanced stage (lights, speakers, mirrors, etc) and other features Paul really didn't want to know about. He lounged on the couch with a happy groan and looked at Bella who was staring down at herself on the stage. He raised an eyebrow and she shrugged.

"I think it would be interesting to cover yourself in glitter and see what sparkles in here."

Paul couldn't help but laugh, "You're a piece'a work, Belladonna."

"Mmm. You like it."

"Not that I don't enjoy seeing you... And not that I didn't enjoy what happened outside... But you and I have some unfinished business, doll."

Bella nodded and absentmindedly swung around the pole, exploding all sorts of fantasies into Paul's mind. "You left before I got to spill my own guts to you."

Paul rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah well, I didn't want bad news."

Bella smirked and looked over at him through thick eyelashes, "If it were bad, would I be here?"

Paul shrugged and sat back with his hands behind his head. "Maybe."

"I'm not from New York, obviously."

He laughed, "That much is obvious."

"I'm from a place in Washington state called Forks..."

He snorted and she flipped him off.

"My dad is the Chief of Police there.. He and my mom divorced when I was one and she took off with me. Until I was twelve, I had to live with an adult who acted like a child. I learned to pay bills, cook, do laundry, balance a checkbook and forge my mother's signature while I was in kindergarden."

Paul winced. That was no kind of life for a kid. "What happened when you were twelve?"

"My father and I finally got a judge who cared about what was happening to the child.. Who cared who I wanted to live with.. Who wasn't out to stick it to the man simply because he was a man. I told the judge who I wanted to live with and why.. My mother was ordered to start paying child support and I was to be released to live with Charlie immediately. Not long after, he married my step mother, Sue, and we moved to the La Push reservation with her and my step siblings Seth and Leah."

"Natives?"

"Oh yes. Leah's beautiful, too. She's also my best friend."

"And your mother?"

He shivered as her eyes met his and he saw frozen rage, "I haven't seen my mother since the day in the court room when she told me she would see me at home, not even understanding or caring about what she had been told. She doesn't even remember she has a child probably."

Paul frowned and held a hand out but she shook her head, "Not until I'm done."

She was walking in aimless circles by this point, antsy to just move around. "I moved to New York because I want to be a dancer on Broadway."

This peaked his interest, "Broadway?"

"Broadway. My father and Sue are concerned, as are many others. Leah is actually my biggest supporter. But Broadway is hard to get a spot on, even as chorus. So I waitress. I promised myself that I wouldn't strip just to make ends meet, though I'm sure it would be easy money. The closest I would ever get would be burlesque.. I don't judge you. You're doing what you can to live and to help your mother."

Paul raised an eyebrow, "Okay..."

"You told me your secret. So here's mine. I also came to New York because I wanted to be as far away as possible from my ex boyfriend, Tyler Crowley."

Paul frowned, the name sounding familiar until it registered... "Do you mean the star quarterback for the Redskins?"

"The very same.. We dated for years if you can call it that. He was the star of Forks just like he's the big star of the Redskins. Once he started getting attention, we got local attention together. He would shower me with gifts when he was happy with me- I had to wear what he liked, be friends with who he approved of and do what he thought was acceptable. When he disapproved, he would become almost another person entirely. I never told my father because I didn't want to ruin Tyler's life.. When I found out he was cheating on me with Lauren, Leah helped get me out. He was livid when he found out that I knew about Lauren and he had demanded I accept it since I was supposed to remain a virgin until he married me and we had this big fancy media-circus wedding that I didn't want. Lauren was pregnant, so it wasn't too hard to run. I leaked it to the press and he spun it like it was him and her all along... But he would still call me at night, drunk, and threaten to kill me.. Threaten horrible things.. So I ran."

Paul felt anger well up in his chest, "He hit you?"

"He's not that stupid, I'd like to hope."

"You still runnin'?"

"I don't know anymore..."

Paul cleared his throat and adjusted himself in his pants, "Not to ruin this chat or anything, but if you keep sliding around on that pole something else is going to happen with an entirely different pole."

Bella laughed, "Oh? Just because I don't want to be a stripper by profession doesn't mean I wouldn't be a private dancer.. for the right person."

The way her dark eyes flashed had Paul's rolling in the back of his head as he bit back a moan. Either she was trying to kill him or she really had no idea how alluring she was. He would have loved to let her give him a private show.. Maybe they could have traded off. But he knew that it wasn't the time for that to happen. He had a boss who was madder than a Yankees fan when the Red Sox won and he knew if he didn't kiss her ass a bit, she would throw him out on his.

As if sensing the direction of his thoughts, she stepped gently off the stage and made her way to him. She had barely sat down before he was pulling her body against his. With a small purr, she tilted her head up to him and allowed him to claim her lips. The lipgloss she had on was candy sweet and he moaned as she opened to him and the flavor mixed with one that was all hers. He tangled his fingers gently in her silky locks and let himself get lost in her for a few moments.. Moments that weren't enough. Painfully, he released her and their eyes met for a few heartbeats.

"Call me later." She whispered. He nodded and it seemed just like that, she was walking out of the door.

Paul tried to put an innocent face as he knocked on the side of Candy's open office door. She glanced over and then threw a glare at him. Paul gave his best fake pout and she growled a bit before throwing her pen down, "What? Come to break more of my rules?"

Paul sighed and leaned against the doorframe, "I'm not trying to break any rules. And technically, I'm not. Bella is not my girlfriend."

"I sense a but in there and it's not your finely sculpted rear-end either."

Paul smirked, "Finely sculpted?"

"You gonna kiss up or fish for compliments?"

He laughed, "Kiss up if at all possible. I will admit I haven't known Bella for a long time and I don't know her in and out, but she's not going to bring any trouble here. Bella has class."

"A lot of ladies have class until they get jealous that some other bitch is oogling her man's junk, official or not."

Paul rolled his eyes, "Really? Oogling.. Nevermind. Bella and I talked about this. Like I said, we aren't even a couple. We have yet to go on a real date."

"You want to be, though, Lahote. I can see it on your face.. I saw it in the way you helped her off the stage.. Don't get me wrong, it was sweet enough that I feel like I should call my dentist. But I've seen how this story plays out. You're not the only one who gets hurt.. And there are a lot of people who depend on this place."

Paul sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Look. I know what can happen. Bella isn't the one you should be worried about. I also know that you've got girls rotating every week over some drama or other with their boyfriend. Cut me some slack. Hell, Mario strips down, gives lap dances and such and his WIFE doesn't care. Just give me a chance?"

He watched her face for a moment, wondering what she would say. Finally she nodded and held up a finger, "One chance. Now get out of my office or you don't get payroll."

Paul took a few steps in, hugged Candy and kissed her on the cheek, "I promise it will all be okay."

Author's Note: I am slowly going to bring a few fics back from TR to FF.. In this spirit, I ask that you please leave reviews. I know it's very easy to simply favorite/follow a fic and have the updates, but please review. Why? Because I, as the author, like to know that my readers are enjoying the story. And a fav or follow is great, but it doesn't let me know how you felt about the events in the chapter, what you would like to see next or anything that makes an author feel good and inspired.

This fic will be updated on TR before it is updated here. That being said, they are both the same on each site.

Thank you for reading. See you in the next chapter.


	12. DISCLAIMER

**_Disclaimer: I do not own TWILIGHT_** _ **nor any of it's affiliated characters, settings or exclusive content. TWILIGHT is the sole property of STEPHANIE MEYER and the publisher(s) of the book**_

 ** _I do not make money off the writing, posting or sharing of any content of these two works. I ALSO do not own any MUSIC posted in this fiction. I will try to disclaim them individually, but this Disclaimer should be accepted as a blanket disclaimer for any that may be missed._**


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